Over the last several years, a woman nursing her child in a public or semi-public area has become less objectionable than in prior decades. This new attitude is in part a consequence of the so-called "sexual revolution" and in part a result of a generally more casual attitude respecting social conventions.
As a result of the foregoing, there have been introduced onto the market various types of nursing garments in which an attempt is made to maintain a proper styling and fashion for the garment or dress and yet permit the same to function as a nursing dress in that a part can be opened up to expose a woman's breast for nursing a child. One example of such a garment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,593 wherein a large hinged front panel is provided on a dress or blouse so designed that it can be loosened at its lower end and a baby inserted up under the loosened panel to nurse without exposing the woman's breast.
Two other examples of recently designed nursing garments are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,004,294 and 4,208,743. The first of these patents relates to a blouse design having left and right panels in front of the wearer's left and right breasts, respectively, these panels being camouflaged to look like pockets. The outer panel of each pocket can be pulled downwardly to expose the woman's nursing bra. The second of these two patents relates to a dress having open apertures on each side under the arm, the apertures being located such that either breast can be easily exposed for nursing a child. An inside panel which can be moved out of the way is normally provided for covering the breast so that the breast will not be exposed through these apertures.
While these recently introduced designs make it simpler for a woman to nurse her child in a public or semi-public area without attracting appreciable attention, there are still problems associated with such designs. First, the styling of the dress is always somewhat limited in view of the apparent necessity to provide apertures or pockets which camouflage apertures and the like. Second, where large openings or large flaps or panels are involved to cover a child's head, the nursing mother must be concerned that the child still receives sufficient air and will not become "smothered".